TO RUSSIA WITH LOVE
By Akita Olsen
Late this June, south west couple
Tracy and Peter Harrison will be travelling to Russia
on a mission of love – where they are volunteering
their time working in one of the Sakhalin Island
orphanages, on the eastern boarder near Japan.
| After spending three weeks
there they return back to the south west before
collecting their children and more supplies,
and then returning to the Russian orphanage
for three to five years of volunteer work.
You may ask why a young family would give
up three or five years of pay and lovely
living conditions here, and chose to spend
them in an under-resourced orphanage in
a country they have never been. Well, it
is a reasonable question and Tracy gave
me a very reasonable response – they
saw a need and felt called to
|
|
 |
| assist in this area. If you
have a glance at the picture here of several
babies in one cot you may feel moved - well
they were also moved and are now making the
real move! |
There are around 300 children in this
one orphanage ranging from newborns to 16 years
old. The couple's desire and task is to provide
general care of the children as well as giving affection
and being an extra pair of hands in the centre.
Tracy and Peter have been fundraising
to gain enough resources to cover basic expenses.
Their main fundraiser has been "Relish for
Russia", a tomato chutney that they have been
selling. Tracy made over 500 bottles in three days
and it is still selling. If you wish to purchase
some Relish for Russia you can do so via Grace Christian
Church on Vittoria Street, Vittoria Heights, Bunbury.
The cost is $2 a small jar, $3.50 medium, and $5
for a large jar.
The couple have been greatly blessed
by individuals and local businesses and is very
grateful for the assistance. Yet they are in need
of a further $2,000 as well as some basic needs
for the children, including:
- scarves & mittens (new or used)
- socks (new)
- coloured pencils
- textas or crayons
- skipping ropes and elastics
- tennis balls
- face paints and kids craft equipment
- book marks
- girls hair ties
If you can help in any of these ways
please feel free to drop off goods at either the
Bunbury Mail office or the ABC office in Bunbury
– where they have both kindly offered to accept
items on the couple’s behalf and pass them
on. Any donations or materials will need to be dropped
off by the 17th of June 2004. Any further queries
please email us here at South West Life on admin@southwestlife.com.au.
It is great to know that it is still
very possible that one person or family can have
a huge impact on communities. We hope to follow
up the family later on in the year and give you
an update on their progress.
June 2004
